Jamaican Crime Novel Wins Man Booker Prize

The Man Booker Prize has been won by Jamaican Marlon James for his novel centred on the real-life attempted murder of Bob Marley in the 1970s.

A Brief History Of Seven Killings uses the attack on the reggae singer as the basis for a fictional look at organised crime and political corruption in the Caribbean country.

The 44-year-old author, who won £50,000 as well as a trophy presented by the Duchess of Cornwall, is the first Jamaican to scoop the coveted literary prize in its 47-year history.

The book is set in Kingston in 1976, just weeks before the country's general election and two days before Marley was set to play the Smile Jamaica concert to ease political tensions.

A gang storms Marley's home with machine guns, but the singer survives and goes on to play at the free concert.

He leaves Jamaica soon after and does not return for two years.

Marley, his wife Rita and manager Don Taylor were all injured in the shooting.

The 686-page story includes large sections written in Jamaican patois and the rise of the drug trade on the island.

It has more than 75 characters, voices and witnesses including from FBI and CIA agents to killers, ghosts and beauty queens.

The judges unanimously picked the book as the winner after "more than one but less than two hours of deliberation," according to Michael Wood, chairman of the judging panel.

"It is not an easy read. It is a big book. There is some tough stuff and there is a lot of swearing but it is not a difficult book to approach. It is not a difficult book to get into."

A Brief History Of Seven Killings is the third novel by James, who was born in Kingston and teaches creative writing in the US state of Minnesota.

His victory is set to lead to a surge in sales, as is customary for the winner of the prize.